EPA enforcement actions against wastewater plants in Minnesota
17 formal actions at 13 of 460 plants · $4.4M in penalties · 15 EPA inspections
EPA's enforcement records list 17 formal civil enforcement cases naming publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in Minnesota, 7 of them since fiscal year 2020. The cases involve 13 of the state's 460 plants, with $4.4 million in penalties assessed. The most common ground is npdes permit violations (9 cases). EPA has inspected 9 plants in the state, 15 inspections in total. Every plant links to its profile, and every case to its report on EPA's ECHO site.
Recent enforcement actions in Minnesota
| Plant | Date | Type | Law section | Outcome | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Met Council Metropolitan WWTP Saint Paul | May 2026 · FY1997 | Judicial case | New Source Performance Standards | Final Order With Penalty & Specified Cost Recovery | $250,000 | ECHO 05-1997-0405 |
| Thief River Falls WWTP Thief River Falls | Mar 2025 · FY2025 | Administrative order | National Drinking Water Regulations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2025-1039 |
| EPA's description: “The final order of this AOC was sent 3/14/2025” | ||||||
| White Earth Wwsl White Earth | Apr 2024 · FY2020 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2020-0310 |
| EPA's description: “AOC regarding CWA violations” | ||||||
| Naytahwaush Wwsl Naytahwaush | Apr 2024 · FY2020 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2020-0311 |
| EPA's description: “AOC regarding CWA violations” | ||||||
| Nett Lake Wwsl Nett Lake | Dec 2023 · FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2022-0340 |
| EPA's description: “AOC to correct DMRs and failure to submit O & M plan” | ||||||
| Fortune Bay Resort & Casino Tower | Nov 2023 · FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2022-0337 |
| EPA's description: “AOC under CWA for Lake Vermilion” | ||||||
| Bejou-Well #2 Entry Point Bejou | Feb 2023 · FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2022-0326 |
| EPA's description: “AOC to address SNC DMR nonreceipt violations.” | ||||||
| Usdi Bia Grnd Prtg Ind Res Grand Portage | Oct 2021 · FY2022 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order Issued | — | ECHO 05-2022-0303 |
| Bejou-Well #2 Entry Point Bejou | Feb 2019 · FY2018 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2018-0300 |
| EPA's description: “Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) designed to bring the City of Bejou wastewater treatment facility into compliance with the Clean Water Act. City to begin efforts to address the compliance…” | ||||||
| Fortune Bay Resort & Casino Tower | Feb 2019 · FY2018 | Administrative order | NPDES Permit Violations | Final Order No Penalty | — | ECHO 05-2018-0321 |
| EPA's description: “Final AOC regarding CWA violations” | ||||||
Full case histories, milestones, violation types and EPA's complete case summaries for every plant are shown with a free Klarifi account. Create one →
Largest penalties in Minnesota
| # | Plant | Date | Type | Outcome | Penalty | Compliance actions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Met Council Metropolitan WWTP Saint Paul | Dec 1989 · FY1979 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $1.7M | — | ECHO 05-1979-0080 |
| 2 | Seneca Wastewater Treatment Plant Eagan | Dec 1989 · FY1979 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $1.7M | — | ECHO 05-1979-0080 |
| 3 | Big Lake WWTP Big Lake | Nov 2009 · FY2008 | Administrative order | Final Order Issued | $468,600 | $45,648 | ECHO HQ-2008-8002 |
| 4 | Seneca Wastewater Treatment Plant Eagan | Aug 1993 · FY1988 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty | $395,000 | — | ECHO 05-1988-0093 |
| 5 | Met Council Metropolitan WWTP Saint Paul | May 2026 · FY1997 | Judicial case | Final Order With Penalty & Specified Cost Recovery | $250,000 | $200M | ECHO 05-1997-0405 |
| 6 | Marshall WWTP Marshall | Feb 2002 · FY1998 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $6,000 | — | ECHO 05-1998-0572 |
| 7 | Met Council Hastings WWTP Hastings | Mar 1998 · FY1997 | Administrative order | Final Order With Penalty | $2,500 | — | ECHO 05-1997-0458 |
Actions by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Formal actions | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 0 | — |
| FY2018 | 3 | — |
| FY2019 | 0 | — |
| FY2020 | 2 | — |
| FY2021 | 0 | — |
| FY2022 | 4 | — |
| FY2023 | 0 | — |
| FY2024 | 0 | — |
| FY2025 | 1 | — |
| FY2026 | 0 | — |
EPA fiscal years run from 1 October to 30 September. The current year is partial.
EPA enforcement in Minnesota: questions
Sources and methodology
Flow, permit and violation figures come from the EPA's ICIS-NPDES discharge monitoring records. Population served comes from the Clean Watersheds Needs Survey 2022. Treatment structures are identified by Klarifi's review of aerial imagery, and capital improvement projects are extracted from published municipal budget documents. Violations are counted over the last three years of monitoring reports.
Data refreshed September 17, 2026.
Enforcement data: EPA ICIS-FE&C civil enforcement cases and ICIS compliance inspections, via ECHO. Penalties are the amounts assessed or agreed in each case as EPA records them. Latest case status in this data: May 2026.